Thursday, May 6, 2010

Bullies by Bindy

Look what I found in my inbox today!!!! Bindy is so cute and I hope she writes more posts! Oh no, I'm doing that YOU GO GIRL! thing again. Bindy's alright. Here's our synchronized offspring at Earth Hour. (I know I have better pics somewhere but Bindy is getting REALLY IMPATIENT for me to post this.)

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Hi, I’m Bindy. You may have read about me in some of Star’s previous posts. Anyhow, I’ve known Star forever (since high school) and somehow we’ve managed to remain friends nonetheless.

Like Star, I have two kids: Nikki is 11 years old and is in 6th grade. She is everything you would expect a preteen to be in our electronic age. Lacey is almost 4. Star and I were pregnant at the same time. I actually got pregnant a week before she did, but then she had Violet a week before I did, the lucky girl. But I digress…..

Last weekend I took Lacey to our neighborhood park. She is very social and outgoing, so she immediately befriended a 4 year old boy, Braedon, who was with his grandmother. I should’ve been alarmed when his grandmother dropped his trousers so that he could pee on the grass (the restrooms were perhaps 2 yards away), but I just figured she was quirky. Anyhow, Lacey and Braedon wanted to play by the creek. This creek is a result of run-off through cow pastures, so it’s not something one would want to bathe in or drink. But it has tadpoles and frogs and some interesting water bugs. The grandmother lit a cigarette, and I watched the kids from a few feet away. Lacey proceeded to stand on a large rock at the creekside. That’s when Braedon came up behind her, put his hands on her back, and shoved her in the creek. She stood there, waist deep in fetid water, then crawled up and out of the creek. Braedon’s grandmother ran to him, yelling “how would you like to be pushed in the creek? Huh? See if YOU like it.” Then she put him on the rock and shoved HIM in the creek. She pulled him out and yelled, “should I do it again? How do you like it???” Meanwhile I quietly took Lacey to my side and said to anyone who might be listening, “um, we’re just going to go.”

Lacey was drenched, but she wasn’t crying and didn’t seem upset. I asked her how she was and she told me “it’s ok, it was an accident.” Uh, no, it wasn’t, but I didn’t want to argue with a four year old so I bit my tongue.

Later I told my husband about it. His response: “it’s a good thing I wasn’t there.” Uh, really, he’s a FOUR YEAR OLD, what were you going to do? That’s my hubby, all bark and no bite.

In Star’s blogs she always seems to wrap up her stories with a neat life lesson. I’m not the writer she is, but I think what I learned from this experience is that shoving a boy into a creek to teach him not shove anyone in a creek is misguided at best, and last but not least, I’m glad I have girls.